Please help with my exterior ranch home!

6 years ago

My husband and I purchased a 1960's ranch home, which sits on a beautiful 2 acre lot. I've tried playing around with a visualizer software, but am torn on what to do to help make this home stand out, as it does have lots of potential.

I was thinking of painting the trim white, change the siding to a beige/neutral color, and adding a stone to the bottom half of the home (craftsman style). But now I am wondering if white siding might be better. I also would love to add a wood accent by possibly extending the porch.

I've included photos of the home, and have also added my current draft. I'm not opposed to using other siding colors. Just really would love to pick your brains on how to many this home look amazing.

Thank you in advance!

Featured Answer

cawaps

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

I don't see any issues with your house that can't be addressed with little bit of landscaping. I don't particularly care for the shingle effect in the front gable, but it's subtle and not something I think you really need to go out and fix. The house is attractive; the foundation plantings are appropriate. I get the sense from your mock-up that you want to make the house something it isn't. The stone, in particular, seems like something straight from a McMansion. You have a very nice ranch home. Trying to make it into something it's not won't be successful in making it look like something it's not. Not without vast quantities of money and a wanton disregard for the existing architecture. (I feel bad for not liking your mock-up. I know you put a lot of thought and effort into it. I'm sorry.)

I would think about landscaping options to break up the large swath of front lawn. I'm not in an area where front lawns are a thing (in drought-prone California, green lawns are a badge of shame), so this may just reflect my geographic bias. But I'd like to see a tree and some planting beds instead of extensive grass.

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Comments (8)

PRO
Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
6 years ago
Some inspiration with beige
PRO
Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
6 years ago
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Katie B.
6 years ago
Were you Trying to do something like this?

This is...fine...but not really improvement, just different.

Your house is great already. You could do cedar posts and a bold front door to spice things up.

I DO understand wanting to change things that don’t need changing just to change them. If that’s the case, follow your heart.
emilyam819
6 years ago
Stone would be all wrong for your house. But it is a lovely home as is.
Lee Blaz
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you all for the feedback. So, I did want to know that we purchased the home on short sale so the siding color has faded. Trim is also now looking in bad shape. So we do need to change both. Any colors that you would recommend to freshen the home? Also, for a home that is a one story ranch, would vertical siding look better then horizontal?
Lee Blaz
Original Author
6 years ago
cawaps
6 years ago
I don't have time right now to do this, but maybe it's something your can try yourself. All the big paint manufacturers have online tools where you can upload a photo of your home and paint it virtually (I use Benjamin Moore's Personal Color Viewer). You can "try on" a bunch of different colors to figure out what your like.

Is the later photo more recent? I'm sad to see the foundation plantings gone.